Zehn Deutsche auf einem Fleck westlicher Kultur in Südkoreas Hauptstadt Seoul. Klingt komisch, ist aber so.
Wir bewohnen hier insgesamt drei Apartments eines 19-stöckigen Hotels. Zimmerreinigung, Fitnessclub (inkl. Golfabschlagplätze, auch digital) und Frühstücksbuffet fühlen sich alles andere als asiatisch an, daher auch der „Fleck westlicher Kultur“, you know?
Umso asiatischer werden die Verhältnisse, wenn wir vor die Tür treten. Temperaturen über 25 Grad Celsius und die hohe Luftfeuchtigkeit machen jeden Ausflug zu einem Besuch im Dampfbad. Vom blauen Himmel, über sehr diesiges Wetter bis hin zu verregneten Taifun-Tagen wird einem hier alles geboten. Hauptsächlich ist es jedoch schön und warm.
Vielleicht ist es unmöglich, alles von der 11 Millionen Metropole zu sehen, aber wir bemühen uns trotzdem. Bisher waren wir auf dem Seoul Tower, dem höchsten Punkt hier in der Umgebung, im alten Königspalast Gyeongbokung („strahlende Glückseligkeit“) und im Stadtteil Gangnam.
Moment mal, Gangnam? „Gangnam Style“ (für diejenigen, die es noch nicht kennen)
Dieser Typ und dieses Video gehen gerade durch die Decke, und das weltweit. Sechs Millionen Klicks pro Tag, insgesamt über 262 Millionen Aufrufe und das erst seit dem 15. Juli. In unserer Vorlesung „The Media Industry and The Business of Entertainment“ versuchen wir, der Viralität des Ganzen auf die Spur zu kommen.
Auch kulinarisch geht hier einiges durch die Decke. Traditionelles koreanisches Essen ist sehr vielfältig. Der Tisch ist voller kleiner und größerer Schalen mit Beilagen und Hauptgerichten. Reis und Suppe findet man eigentlich immer, genauso wie Kimchi, speziell zubereiteter Kohl mit durchaus eigenem Charakter. Die Gerichte sind sehr gemüselastig, doch es gibt auch Fleisch oder Meeresfrüchte. Das leckerste traditionelle Essen für uns war (bisher) Bulgogi, der koreanische Feuertopf, und Jeon, eine Art Pfannkuchen.
Interessant bzw. seltsam ist die Kombination von Tradition und Moderne. Auf der einen Seite gibt es die strengen Verhaltensregeln in der Gesellschaft, feste soziale Strukturen und den Nationalstolz. Südkorea ist die Nation mit der weltweit höchsten durchschnittlichen Arbeitszeit. Pro Jahr arbeitet ein durchschnittlicher Koreaner 2300 Stunden – ein durchschnittlicher Deutscher 1400. Südkorea ist das Land mit dem schnellsten Internet, in Seoul gibt es ein nahezu flächendeckendes WLAN-Netz und Koreaner scheinen nur noch per Smartphone zu kommunizieren. Selbst kleine Kinder im Kinderwagen spielen schon mit modernster Technik, wie wir damals mit Bauklötzen. Im Kontrast dazu steht das arme Landvolk, das in die Großstädte (hauptsächlich Seoul) abwandert und hier sein Glück sucht. Zwischen all den futuristischen Hochhäusern sieht man viele einfache Straßenstände, die Lebensmittel oder selbstgemachtes Essen verkaufen.
Bei dem starken amerikanischen und generell westlichen Einfluss dachten wir, dass die Menschen in der Weltstadt gut Englisch sprechen. Jedoch beherrschen die wenigsten Koreaner die Sprache wirklich gut, tendenziell eher die jüngere Generation. Im Hotel, in Restaurants und in Bars werden Bestellung oder Gespräche oft zu einem unterhaltsamen Abenteuer. Durch die überaus freundliche und hilfsbereite Art der Koreaner schaffen wir es jedoch stets das zu bekommen, was wir benötigen.
Apropos westlicher Einfluss: Momentan ist Jägermeister ziemlich angesagt, genauso wie B52. Natürlich gibt es auch deutsches Bier, allerdings zu astronomischen Preisen. Das einheimische ist preiswerter, aber kommt nicht an das verwöhnte deutsche Geschmacksempfinden heran. Im Allgemeinen sind die Koreaner recht feier- und kontaktfreudig. Das Wort „nein“ scheint nicht zu existieren.
Das merken wir speziell bei unserer Uni. Es wird sich absolut herzlich um uns gekümmert, wir haben einen eigenen Ansprechpartner. Der zu jeder Tageszeit erreichbar scheint und bisher all unsere Probleme lösen konnte. Die Uni selbst liegt mitten im Studentenviertel der Stadt. Um uns herum befinden sich drei Universitäten in unmittelbarer Nähe, wovon sich besonders eine reine Frauenuniversität durch die Fülle an hübschen Studentinnen bemerkbar macht. Allerdings unterscheidet sich unser Lehrkomplex erheblich von den anderen. Jeden Tag lauschen wir den Professoren in einem dreistöckigen Quader, der auf einem siebenstöckigen Gebäude thront.
In den nächsten Wochen werden viel mit der Uni beschäftigt sein, es gibt viel zu lesen und Arbeiten und Präsentationen müssen vorbereitet werden. Wir sind zuversichtlich, dass wir dank unserer ausgeprägten Arbeitsmoral gut vorankommen werden.
안녕히 가세요 (annyeonghi gaseyo) – Tschüss
Viele Grüße aus Seoul
At the beginning of September, 7 students from Munich, Cologne, Stuttgart, Hamburg and Berlin were ready to take part in an Arabic adventure to go to conquer the capital of the United Arab Emirates – Abu Dhabi.
Because of the completely different culture and religion, which of course we were not used to, we first really had to find out about the dos and don’ts in an Arabic country. Yet, after a few days the calls of the Muezzin, which happen to be five times a day as well as the Abayas and Shaylas the women wear to veil their beauty and the traditional white garments the men wear, became just normal for us. Also the women who have some more conditions to hold on to as the men, meanwhile, do not even recognize the change in behaviour anymore they had to go through.
The only thing, which marred the first excitements, was the problem of finding an appropriate accommodation which should have been provided by our “international- office”. After checking the proposals and possibilities we received in Germany, we all agreed to take matters into our hands. All in all it took 3 complete days to find a place to stay for the 7 of us. However, another very important factor concerning the search for an apartment was the budget. In Germany we were told, that there are flats available for 400 to 600€ per person a month, yet, in reality they were over 1000€. This situation we were confronted with, of course was quite shocking, but because of our partner university’s endeavours and contacts we finally managed to find ourselves an apartment which seems to be rather affordable regarding the price policy on Abu Dhabi’s real estate market.
This is where we get talking about our university in Abu Dhabi (HCT). Due to the religion and culture the colleges are strictly separated between men and women, so the Higher Colleges of Technology offers two locations: The Men’s and the Women’s College. It does not matter whether Men’s or Women’s College – the responsibles of the university as well as our fellow students welcomed us in a sincere and friendly way we would have never imagined. Despite all the common prejudices and stereotypes of the Arab World and the Islamic belief, the people living here are extremely open minded and interested in everything concerning us – our Western lifestyle, religion, culture and especially the certain freedoms the Islamic belief forbids, which however seem completely normal to us.
The university itself is just incredible. The equipment and facilities this university is able to offer the students are at its best. In plus lectures are very interesting and similar to open conversations in which everyone takes part in. This is different compared to the sometimes very teacher-oriented teaching we find at German universities.
Moreover, the life here is much easier going than in Germany. This is shown through every day life situations and the fact that one is not confronted with bureaucracy and stress at all, which meanwhile is normal in Germany.
Well, the percentage of foreigners that live here. One must know that in Abu Dhabi there are more foreigners living than actual locals in a ratio of 20%. There are around 200 different nationalities living here in almost complete harmony. One could even go as far as saying that the city is a stronghold of foreigners. Nevertheless, the city is entirely owned by the locals which for European standards would not be imaginable. But exactly this makes the city so interesting.
Furthermore, Abu Dhabi is the city with the highest GDP per capital in the entire world and therefore also the richest country in the world. The wealth here is though unequally distributed amongst the different nationalities. So the people who mainly profit from the oil are still the Emirati. While we are on it – a full gas tank costs about 20€ in the land of oil, so that explains the high-class cars here with motorizations that would be forbidden in Germany.
Even though partying is a bit difficult because the Islam forbids alcohol, there are lots of nightclubs integrated in the big hotels such as the Hilton, Royal Meridian or Sheraton. So also the partying aspect is no problem here.
Compared to other countries, Abu Dhabi does not have a real city centre, but of course the shopping does not get the short end of the stick. Abu Dhabi is a real paradise for shoppaholics. The huge (and that means bigger than in the USA!) malls provide an immense choice of stores, beginning with the common stores we know from Germany to the high class brands such as Gucci, Prada, etc.
Another wonderful thing about Abu Dhabi is that it is like an Arabic New York with all its impressive skyscrapers on the one hand and on the other hand it is like a paradise with an endless desert and beautiful beaches.
All in all Abu Dhabi exceeded all our expectations, and we are extremely happy with our choice! We can only recommend this amazing place to all students which did not have the opportunity to come and visit here yet.
Aleikum al salam
The Abu Dhabi Crew
As we already had a little insight to the lovely Californian life, I will try not to repeat what the mhmk’lers on the (almost) “island” already shared.
25 students from all over Germany came together to spend their semester abroad in “America’s finest city” (aka. San Diego). As with most other private universities the National University of cause is not as popular as the big State University of San Diego:
“Oh, you’re studying here? So, are you’re studying at the SDSU (San Diego State University)?”
“No, I’m studying at the National University.”
Although the SDSU is more popular, still the NU is the second biggstest private univesity of the Sate of California and it is one of the highest in the university rankings. The average age of the students is 35, which was not exactly what we expected. The reason for that is that the majority of the people studying at the NU already gained work-experience, and now want to catch upon their missing degree. Which in the end doesn’t even matter because we’re not studying together with Americans anyways; actually not even with other International Students. The monthly courses the mhmk students visit are mostly designed especially for them. Results in the fact that it is just us 25 studying together. This is bit of a pity- most of the students here would have loved to share classes with American students. Well, at least we had the chance to switch our morning classes to evening classes in October, so we can join an American course at least for 1 month (evening= 5 pm – 10 pm, but worth it). Though having some more English speaking students around would have been desirable, the uni is still really meeting our expectations. The building is really nice (it’s a bit cold in it but I think we all get used to the AC), the professors are really nice, the people from the international office are friendly, welcoming and always busy planning new trips to any kinds of attractions SD has to offer and (most important) the WLAN always works ;). We just started our September course last Tuesday… What should be mentioned by now is that we only have one course per month (on 2 days/week). Simple calculations thus show that we only have 8 sessions to visit per month. This sounds like a ridiculously little number- which indeed it is; though it not at all less work than in Germany; there is a lot more homework at American Universities than it is common at the mhmk. We have to write at least one assignment per week (mostly including a research, analysis and empiric study in form of an interview). Unfortunately it sounded much more like a “bed of roses” than it turned out to be in the end.
All in all, you can say that uni-life(though it actually hasn’t really started yet) is fun in San Diego. The professor is really nice and the assignments are challenging, but fun. Our first course is called “Intercultural Communication” and our really professor takes that literally. We are spending more time outside the classroom than having actual lectures. In the 2 classes we had until now, we already went to the Balboa Park to the Mingei museum, to the San Diego Magazine to talk to the owner and to a presentation at the library. For our homework each of us got a random city and a random country assigned (e.g. Iraq and Memphis), about which we have to research various aspects, as well as we have to find people from the assigned country, who are living in San Diego, to talk to- it is kind of challenging, but even more fun!
San Diego as a city is a great place to study. The NU is about 15 minutes’ drive to Pacific Beach. The harbor and beaches are beautiful and everybody enjoys hanging out there. There are so many different places to visit in San Diego; there is no time for boredom. But one thing that definitely needs to be mentioned is that it is nearly impossible to come around without a car. Many of us were too optimistic towards the public transport system here in SD. Renting a car simply makes it much easier. The distances are really far (much farer than the most of us would have guessed) and there are affordable car rental companies around SD, so nearly all of us are mobile right now.
San Diego has dozens of shopping malls and outlets – which makes it a real paradise for all the girls here! Also the districts “Downtown” and “Hillcrest” are so much fun to visit. Not only the shops, but also the huge variety of restaurants is great for all people, who love to try new food (from all kinds of nationalities).
Downtown, which is really touristy during the day, becomes a real hotspot at night. This is where the nightlife happens. There are many great clubs, bars and pubs all over the place. Unfortunately most of them are really expensive (about 20 dollars to get in), but if you come early it is definitely worth it (as all clubs are closing at 2 am- which is something a German student definitely needs to get used to). To go out a bit less expensive but with of course with as much fun, most people go to pacific beach. That’s where all the students hang out and party. Unfortunately (as we all know) partying/ drinking alcohol is prohibited for people under the age of 21 and San Diego’s Clubs and Bars are really strict with that. There is no chance to get in without your passport (ID is not valid).
But still, besides partying there is so much more to do in SD. You can visit Balboa Park (a really beautifully arranged park with many museums to visit), go to Oldtown (an old Mexican-American district, where you can find lots of little shops),drive over to Coronado Island (to go to the beach or simply visit the beautiful town of Coronado) and so much more.
All in all, everyone seems really happy here and San Diego seems to be a great choice for a semester abroad!
Lots of sunny greatings from America’s findest city :).
Ann-Kathrin Hertlein
Welcome to California State University Channel Islands, which is not at all located on the Channel Islands but near the charming Southern Californian small town of Camarillo.
Question: So, you are at California State University Channel Islands. Um, how do you get off the island to shop and stuff?
Just an hour up the coast from the entertainment epicenter Los Angeles you can find the latest addition to the California State University system: a 5000-student campus, wedged between scenic hills and a beautiful coastal strip. This is where 25 lucky German MHMK students are going to spend their semester abroad.
CI (as it is called for short) is a rather small campus where everybody knows everybody: something we have already experienced first-hand: While CI has already hosted a number of international students over the past years, this year’s foreign exchange group is by far the largest batch the university has seen so far. The safest guess for any American who encounters a thick accent on campus this semester is German, simply because there is a lot of us. Your basic introduction goes like this: “Yeah, hi, I’m [name], I’m one of the Germans” and everybody instantly knows what you are talking about. Which is one of the great things around here.
CI is a close-knit community and, if you want to, you are part of it from the start. I have rarely met a more welcoming crowd. It seems that CI students, faculty and staff have made it their mission to make this the most unforgettable and amazing experience possible. I have no doubts that this will happen anyway but it is nice to feel that CI is as thrilled to have us as we are to be here.
CI is located a little in the middle of nowhere, to be honest: a 10-minute drive from Camarillo. So what happened is that people solved the accommodation issue differently. Some of us rented an apartment in Camarillo or Oxnard, some of us decided on the long-term stay option at the Residence Inn Marriot Hotel in Camarillo, and some of us live on-campus. A car, at any rate, is incredibly useful around here.
Whether you go on four wheels or give VISTA, Amtrak and Metrolink, the local providers of public transportation, a go, there is plenty to see in California. Los Angeles, for example. Need I say more? L.A. is not the prettiest of cities by any standard around here, though. There is nonetheless tons of fun stuff to do in the City of Angels, especially if you like the entertainment industry in any way, shape or form.
But for the real Californian experience you have other venues to cross off your list. Santa Barbara, a charming small town, only an hour from Camarillo. San Diego, a truly Californian gem, three hours from here. They also have the greatest baseball team in the USA (But then, I may be biased on this because my roommate really really hates the LA Dodgers and she loves the San Diego Padres). Disneyland. The national parks. And so much more. Buy a Lonely Planet, copy and paste the rest of the section on traveling in California right here.
As far as the educational aspect of this semester goes, all MHMK students take a couple of classes in marketing, history, economics, management and multicultural communications. We’re just coming out of the first week of classes so there is not much to say about that yet.
Now, just to mix things up a little, two fun facts about California:
It will probably take us some time to adjust to the fact that California = home. Even if it’s just temporarily. But I have a feeling that it won’t be long.
All the best from the Golden State of the US and Cal State Channel Islands!
Chrissy
christine.carolin.pollithy@mhmk.de